The President

The Little-Known Law Letting Trump Repeal Obama's Regulations

The White House says the Congressional Review Act has allowed President Trump to keep his campaign promise to roll back regulations.

The Little-Known Law Letting Trump Repeal Obama's Regulations
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If it seems to you that President Trump has been rolling back a lot of Obama-era regulations, you're right. 

And the way he's done it is unprecedented. 

Trump and congressional Republicans have used what's called the Congressional Review Act.

Before Trump took office, the CRA had only been successfully used once since it became law in 1996. 

Since Trump has taken office, he has signed 11 resolutions that rescind Obama-era regulations through the CRA.

President George W. Bush repealed a Clinton-era labor regulation in 2001 using the Congressional Review Act. 

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Here's how it works in a nutshell: Before federal agencies can implement any new rules, they have to submit them to Congress. Legislators have 60 legislative days to review the rules; if they don't like them, they can start a filibuster-proof joint resolution disapproving of the regulations. If the joint measure passes by a simple majority vote in both houses of Congress, it goes to the president's desk.

But to get that, one party pretty much needs to control both houses of Congress and the White House. That's one reason we haven't seen it used much before.

And the 60-day time limit for Obama-era regulations is coming up at the end of April.

Trump is expected to sign at least two more resolutions rolling back regulations by then. 

The White House has showcased these rollbacks as a way he's followed through on his campaign promises.